Kroenke Sports and Entertainment

Team engagement is the magic that happens when everyone in your workforce is connected effortlessly to the mission, to each other and to customers. When it works you feel it in your culture and on your balance sheet—and your customers feel it most. Barriers disappear. Productivity rises. Our team engagement solutions get you there.

NUGGETS, AVALANCHE OWNER ELEVATES THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment Finds ROI in Wi-Fi

Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) likely entertains more people in the Denver metro area than anyone else. Whether it’s pro hockey, basketball, soccer or lacrosse, or a major entertainment act, chances are Kroenke owns the home team and the venue it plays in.

One of the world’s leading ownership, entertainment and management groups, KSE’s impressive roster includes the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), the Denver Nuggets (NBA), the Colorado Rapids (MLS) and the Colorado Mammoth (NLL), along with the 20,000-seat Pepsi Center and several other Denver-area venues. Add to that a TV station, two radio stations, an amusement park, and retail and ticketing arms that support its operations.

With a year-round schedule of games and other events – 200 at Pepsi Center alone – there’s no off-season for the team at KSE. The company’s 1,200 employees continuously work to bring fans to events and deliver an unforgettable experience – not an easy task in a location with such a plethora of sporting, entertainment and outdoor activities.

“Denver is the most saturated sports city in the U.S. per capita with colleges, minor league teams and professional teams,” says David Burke, Chief Ticketing Officer. “The challenge is ensuring that the consumer has a unique in-game experience at KSE events compared to what they could have somewhere else.”

To entice fans to live events – over their high-definition home screens – KSE strategically creates an engaging, memorable in-stadium experience, from the floor-size projection screen to offering in-demand dining and beverage choices. And they want fans to share that excitement beyond the arena.

“Today’s fans are very different than 10 years ago,” says Ryan Brach, SVP, Partnership Marketing & Media Sales. “People want to be able to share their experiences with their friends, families and their network.”

“Best in Class” Technology Partner

For a world-class fan experience, as well as unified communications for the business, KSE needed a network infrastructure capable of handling its needs now and in the future. After evaluating several solutions providers, the company chose to partner with Avaya for a complete set of solutions to enhance the fan experience, internal productivity, and its marketing efforts to fans and sponsors.

“We wanted to have the best in class for fans,” says Ryan Brach. “We looked at every major player in the Wi-Fi-solution business and found with Avaya that the data we would receive on the backend was so much more valuable than any of the competitors. It was an easy decision to make and we felt like Avaya was definitely the leader – and our experience has been nothing short of that.”

From the IT leader’s perspective, a primary solutions provider would simplify management for IT. “Having one vendor gives us a single pane of glass as we manage what we do across wired, Wi-Fi and voice communications,” says Rick Schoenhals, VP of IT.

Avaya Fabric Connect provides a flexible, secure network foundation on which KSE runs a number of solutions, including Wi-Fi throughout venues and unified communications that support all business operations.

“Avaya brings us, as a sales and service team, accurate and valuable data not only on the person who purchases the tickets but the people who are using the tickets. And we’ll use that data to provide the best experience for sports fans in Denver.”

-David Burke, Chief Ticketing Officer

Seamless Fan Experiences

For KSE, the fan experience begins at the time of purchase and continues through parking, entry, and before and during the event – all areas where KSE’s new Wi-Fi plays a big part in a seamless experience.

A solid network keeps KSE sites running despite hundreds of hits when tickets go on sale for a major act. With arena-wide Wi-Fi, fans can pull up tickets on their mobile devices rapidly, expediting entry. Once inside, they can easily get on the network to share photos and videos with their friends and followers online, and then see those tagged posts right on the Pepsi Center’s Fan Engagement Wall. With custom apps for some KSE teams, fans can learn more about players, and even upgrade to a closer seat. If 20,000 fans want to get on the network, KSE knows it can handle it.

That ties into KSE’s ambitious social content strategy, which includes a mix of content generated by KSE, fans and players. In just the first season after implementing Wi-Fi, social engagement rose significantly:

73% increase in Instagram reach per post (Nuggets)

38% growth in Instagram followers (Nuggets)

53% jump in average impressions per Tweet (Nuggets)

65% more reach per Tweet (Avalanche)

Likewise, media guests enjoy the uplink speed to dispatch images and video as soon as the action happens.

CHALLENGES

Potential corporate sponsors have near-endless online and traditional options for promoting their businesses.

Extending Wi-Fi to diverse groups demands a tight security strategy.

VALUE CREATED

Within the first 12 months, KSE generated six-figures in new revenue from in-app ads.

Newly available fan data enables more targeted marketing to fans and sponsors.

Social engagement is up.

Network elasticity makes it possible, and reduces the time, to configure technology for diverse events.

Data: A New Marketing Edge

KSE also upgraded its unified communications for all front- and back-office business operations, using Avaya Aura. For ticket sales in particular, Avaya Aura Contact Center provides much-needed modern call center capabilities that ultimately help agents sell more effectively.

Around 100 KSE call center agents make anywhere from 50-100 outbound calls daily to sell tickets. Avaya Aura, which will tie into KSE’s CRM app, offers customer information right at agents’ fingertips, reducing lag time between calls. And call center managers have access to rich analytics on the backend regarding call volumes and call length, along with detailed recordings to identify staff training opportunities.

“We need to be intelligent about how reps are going out and getting business, and ensure that people are maximizing their time,” Burke says. “Avaya technology will help them proactively manage their time wisely, and give us more information to train reps.”

Data also changes marketing for KSE. The Avaya Fanalytics solution collects data at every customer touchpoint, giving KSE a profile of each customer and a way to customize outreach. If a fan bought tickets to a Garth Brooks concert, the company can market upcoming country music events to them. KSE can also find cross-over opportunities among its concert and sports fans.

“We’re always trying to leverage the fact that we can cross-sell across our different properties,” Burke says. “Avaya brings us, as a sales and service team, accurate and valuable data not only on the person who purchases the tickets but the people who are using the tickets. And we’ll use that data to provide the best experience for sports fans in Denver.”

The same goes for creating value for KSE’s corporate partners, which provide a sizeable source of KSE’s revenue. KSE competes with all the other online and physical sponsorship and advertising opportunities Denver has to offer.

With data, the company can share customer demographics about the fan base, helping potential sponsors make smart decisions. For a car dealership in a suburban city, data about the number of fans from its area could clinch the deal.

"We wanted to have the best in class for fans. We looked at the major players in the Wi-Fi-solution business, and found with Avaya that the data we would receive on the back-end was so much more valuable than any of the competitors."

—Ryan Brach, SVP, Partnership Marketing & Media Sales

A Secure, Flexible Network

Where the technology demands on venues change from day to day – from a hockey game to a major concert – KSE relies on the Avaya network to stay nimble. Simple backend management lets the IT team adjust configurations flexibly as needed. For an outdoor music event in the parking lot, for example, KSE can extend access for ticket scanning and vendor Wi-Fi.

Avaya additionally addresses one of Schoenhals’s primary concerns: network security. With hyper segmentation and Avaya Identity Engines, he appreciates the ability to tightly separate the various levels of public and private access.

“We need to make sure that our interactions with our fans, and the business that we do internally, is secure,” Schoenhals says. “Avaya has the necessary enhancements to keep our perimeter secure and make it easy for us as well to stay up to date with current security trends.”

In Brach’s world, having sponsorship clients renew and extend partnerships is the ultimate goal, as it shows success in the partnership. To that end, the Nuggets were honored to win an NBA award for achievement of corporate sponsorship retention. “We believe a lot of this success is due to providing pertinent information to our partners that provides an ROI in their partnership with KSE,” he says.

Reliable Wi-Fi, too, gives KSE a growing source of revenue and a return on its investment in the technology upgrade. “Within the first 12 months, we’ve been able to derive six-figure types of new revenue for the organization as a result of in-app ads for our teams, and we know that’s only going to increase,” Brach says.

As KSE works to increase ticket sales and deepen engagement, the company is confident in its partnership with Avaya. “We’re going to continue to push boundaries and Avaya is going to be a big partner in helping us do that,” Brach says.

About KSE Sports and Entertainment

Denver-based Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is one of the world’s leading ownership, entertainment and management groups. As owners and operators of Pepsi Center, the Paramount Theatre, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Mammoth (NLL) and Colorado Rapids (MLS), KSE’s sports and entertainment assets are second to none. Additional properties under KSE’s umbrella include Altitude Sports & Entertainment, a 24-hour regional television network; Altitude Authentics, the company’s official retail provider; and Altitude Tickets, the official ticketing provider for KSE teams and venues.

SOLUTIONS

Fabric Connect

Avaya Aura® Contact Center Elite

Avaya Virtual Services Platform 4000 Series

Avaya Aura® Communication Manager

Avaya Ethernet Routing Switches 4000 Series

Avaya Aura® Experience Portal

Avaya Wi-Fi LAN 9100 Series

Avaya Fanalytics

Avaya 9100 Series indoor and outdoor access points

Avaya Scopia®

Avaya Aura® Platform

Avaya Pod Fx™

Avaya Aura® Session Manager

Avaya Fan Engagement Wall

If 20,000 fans want to get on the network, KSE knows it can handle it.

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Headquarters:

United States

# Employees:

1200

Denver-based Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is one of the world’s leading ownership, entertainment and management groups. As owners and operators of Pepsi Center, the Paramount Theatre, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Mammoth (NLL) and Colorado Rapids (MLS), KSE’s sports and entertainment assets are second to none. Additional properties under KSE’s umbrella include Altitude Sports & Entertainment, a 24-hour regional television network; Altitude Authentics, the company’s official retail provider; and Altitude Tickets, the official ticketing provider for KSE teams and venues.

What our Customers are saying

“We’re going to continue to push boundaries and Avaya is going to be a big partner in helping us do that."

IMPORTANT — READ CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCEPTING THIS AGREEMENT. THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT FOR AVAYA COLLABORATORY ("TRIAL AGREEMENT"), THE AVAYA GLOBAL SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS, AVAYA TERMS OF USE FOR HOSTED SERVICES, SERVICE DESCRIPTION, PRIVACY STATEMENT SET FORTH AT HTTPS://WWW.AVAYA.COM/EN/PRIVACY/SOLUTIONS/ AND OTHER APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS LOCATED AT HTTP://SUPPORT.AVAYA.COM/LICENSEINFO, ALL OF WHICH ARE INCORPORATED INTO THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT BY REFERENCE, WILL GOVERN YOUR TRIAL AND USE OF THE HOSTED SERVICES DURING THE TRIAL AND ARE BETWEEN YOU AND AVAYA INC., A DELAWARE USA CORPORATION WITH PRINCIPAL OFFICES AT 4655 GREAT AMERICA PARKWAY, SANTA CLARA, CA 95054 ("AVAYA"). ANY PURCHASE OR LICENSE OF THE PRODUCTION VERSION OF THE HOSTED SERVICES WILL BE GOVERNED BY A SEPARATE AGREEMENT.

"TRIAL CUSTOMER," "YOU", OR "YOUR" AS REFERENCED HEREIN MEANS THE LEGAL ENTITY WHICH IS ACCEPTING THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT, PLACING AN ORDER UNDER THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT, OR IS DOWNLOADING, ACCESSING OR USING THE SOFTWARE AND SERVICES (OR HAS PERMITTED SOMEBODY TO DO SO ON ITS BEHALF).

YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE A CORPORATION, COMPANY OR OTHER BUSINESS ENTITY, AND NOT A CONSUMER, AND THAT YOU HAVE AUTHORIZED THE PERSON ACCEPTING THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT TO BIND YOU TO THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT. THE PERSON ACCEPTING THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT ON YOUR BEHALF REPRESENTS THAT HE OR SHE HAS READ THE TRIAL AGREEMENT DOCUMENTS IN FULL AND HAS FULL LEGAL AUTHORITY TO LEGALLY BIND YOU TO THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT. SUCH PERSONâS ONLINE ACCEPTANCE OF THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT WILL HAVE THE SAME LEGAL EFFECT AS IF YOU WERE PROVIDING A HANDWRITTEN SIGNATURE OF ACCEPTANCE. IF SUCH PERSON DOES NOT HAVE SUCH AUTHORITY OR IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT, SELECT THE "I DECLINE" BUTTON AT THE END OF THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT. OTHERWISE, SELECT THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON AT THE END OF THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT TO SIGNIFY THAT YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT. YOU MAY PRINT A COPY OF THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT BY SELECTING THE "PRINT" BUTTON AT THE END OF THIS AGREEMENT. THIS AGREEMENT IS EFFECTIVE AS OF THE DATE YOU EITHER SELECT THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON OR ACCESS OR USE THE AVAYA SOFTWARE OR HOSTED SERVICES.

YOU RECOGNIZE AND AGREE THAT THE SOFTWARE AND SERVICES ARE FOR BUSINESS USE AND NOT FOR CONSUMERS, AND YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU WILL USE THE SOFTWARE AND SERVICES FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR PERSONAL, FAMILY, HOUSEHOLD, OR ANY OTHER CONSUMER PURPOSE.

Avaya and its licensors reserve and retain all right, title, and interest in the Hosted Services and any and all software, products and services that are included in the Hosted Services, including, but not limited to, any and all modifications and derivative works made thereto. Avaya hereby grants You a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free right to access and use the Hosted Services during the Trial Period (defined below) solely for Your internal evaluation purposes only and only for use in a non-production environment. You shall not reverse engineer, decompile, sublicense, lease, assign, copy, modify, merge or transfer the Hosted Services or any Avaya software or code.

Trial Customer may internally trial the non-production version of the Hosted Services from the United States only for a period of up to 90 days from the date when Avaya enables access to the Hosted Services or otherwise makes the Hosted Services or its software available to You, unless that time period is modified in writing by Avaya at its discretion ("Trial Period"). This trial is for Your internal review only, and You may not offer the Hosted Services to any End User or other party during the Trial Period. Upon expiration of the 90 day trial period or any extension thereof, You shall cease use of the Hosted Services, return all software to Avaya, and irretrievably delete all software from your systems. Upon request, a duly authorized representative of Trial Customer will certify such destruction to Avaya. Avaya may share such certification with applicable suppliers whose software is part of the Hosted Services.

Avaya provides the Hosted Services "AS IS" for non-production use only without any warranties, express or implied, and without any promise to enter into a definitive agreement with You for the purchase or license of the Hosted Services. Use of the Hosted Services is at Your own risk, and You understand and agree that if the Hosted Services do not operate as expected, or if Avaya so chooses, Avaya reserves the right to end the Hosted Services trial without liability to Avaya. Either party, without any liability to the other, may terminate this trial early.

AVAYA DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS, STATUTORY, IMPLIED OR OTHER WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

AVAYA AND ITS SUPPLIERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT OR USE OF HOSTED SERVICES, OR FOR THE LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA, INFORMATION OF ANY KIND, BUSINESS, PROFITS, OR OTHER COMMERCIAL LOSS, HOWEVER CAUSED, AND WHETHER OR NOT AVAYA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL AVAYA'S OR ITS SUPPLIERâS TOTAL LIABILITY TO TRIAL CUSTOMER IN CONNECTION WITH, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT OR THE HOSTED SERVICES EXCEED FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500). THE PARTIES AGREE THAT THE LIMITATIONS SPECIFIED IN THIS SECTION WILL APPLY EVEN IF ANY LIMITED REMEDY PROVIDED IN THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

FOR PURPOSES OF THIS TRIAL: (i) THE HOSTED SERVICES ARE NOT A TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE; (ii) THE HOSTED SERVICES MAY NOT BE CONNECTED TO THE PUBLIC TELEPHONE NETWORK; (iii) THE TRIAL CUSTOMER MAY NOT USE CONFIDENTIAL, PERSONAL, PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE, PRIVATE, OR PERSONAL HEALTH INFORMATION WHEN USING THE HOSTED SERVICES; (iv) THE HOSTED SERVICES MAY NOT BE USED FOR ANY HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES; AND, (v) TRIAL CUSTOMER ACKNOWLEDGES AND UNDERSTANDS THAT THE HOSTED SERVICES ARE NOT INTENDED TO SUPPORT OR CARRY EMERGENCY CALLS OR COMMUNICATIONS OF ANY NATURE TO ANY TYPE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING 911 AND E911 SERVICE OR SUCH SIMILAR SERVICES WHICH MAY BE LIMITED OR UNAVAILABLE. AVAYA IS NOT LIABLE IN ANY MANNER FOR TRIAL CUSTOMERâS USE OF THE HOSTED SERVICES IN VIOLATION OF THIS PARAGRAPH.

You shall observe all applicable laws and regulations when accessing and/or using the Hosted Services or any content of the Hosted Services, including, but not limited to, any export and import laws and/or regulations.

Because Avaya provides the Hosted Services to You as a trial, Your feedback will be essential to Avaya. Avaya will contact You periodically for Your feedback and You will provide feedback to Avaya. Any feedback You provide will become the property of Avaya, without any payment or other conditions owed to You. By signing below, You hereby assign to Avaya all right, title, and interest in and to such feedback. Avaya cannot promise to implement any of Your feedback in any future releases of the service.

Avaya and its suppliers reserve and retain all right, title, and interest in the Avaya Hosted Services, trial or otherwise. You must maintain the confidentiality of any information Avaya provides regarding the Hosted Services and any conversations Avaya has or other information Avaya exchanges about the Hosted Services, including Your feedback and comments ("Confidential Information"). You may not disclose to any third party, or provide or enable access to the Hosted Services or any other Confidential Information, by any third party. By signing below, You agree to take all reasonable precautions to protect Avayaâs Confidential Information, and Avaya will also take all reasonable precautions to protect any confidential information You share with us in connection with this Hosted Services, which, at the time of disclosure, is designated as confidential.

YOU SHALL DEFEND, HOLD HARMLESS, AND INDEMNIFY AVAYA AND ITS AFFILATES FROM AND AGAINST ANY DAMAGES AND LOSSES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO COURT COSTS AND ATTORNEYSâ FEES, IN CONNECTION WITH ANY THIRD PARTY CLAIMS OR ACTIONS BROUGHT AGAINST AVAYA AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES AS A RESULT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE HOSTED SERVICES OR ANY FAILURE BY YOU TO COMPLY WITH THIS TRIAL AGREEMENT.

This Trial Agreement constitute the entire understanding between You and Avaya with respect to the subject matter herein and will supersede all previous and contemporaneous communications, representations or understandings, either oral or written, relating to that subject matter. There are no third party beneficiaries to this Trial Agreement. This Trial Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. If there are any disputes arising under or related to this Trial Agreement, You agree to submit disputes to the jurisdiction of, and venue in, the California state and federal (Northern District of California) courts. The parties confirm that it is their wish that this Trial Agreement, as well as all other documents relating hereto, including all notices, have been and shall be drawn up in the English language only. Les parties aux preÌsentes confirment leur volonteÌ que cette convention, de meÌme que tous les documents, y compris tout avis, qui s'y rattachent, soient. This Trial Agreement may be executed using commercially accepted electronic signature services. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Trial Agreement and the incorporated documents, this Trial Agreement shall take precedence.